Many a true word spoken in jest : visuele voorstellingspraktyke in Vlaamse moedertaaltaalhandboeke

Abstract:

Based on the assumption that textbooks
could hardly be free from prejudice,
cultural stereotyping and marginalising of the ‘other’, the purpose of this article is
to determine the extent to which the reigning social and cultural order is fostered
in a Flemish language textbook series. Mechanisms such as inclusions, exclusions,
confusing representations, cultural codes, values, preferences and silences are
investigated to determine the extent of stereotyping strategies in textbook caricatures.
The data source for the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is constituted by a focus
group discussion held in Flanders, discussing visual material in one textbook series,
Vitaal. An insider perspective on representational practices projecting the (non-
Western) ‘other’ was obtained through the discussion by Flemish participants, who
are all involved in the educational sphere. The conceptual framework comprises an
explication of concepts and theories on studies of implicit stereotyping, culture studies
and visual antropology. Influential issues in the literature on textbook representation
in Flanders over the past decade are also described. The data were analysed through
the lens of CDA (Barton and Stygall 2002;1-27; Huckins 2004:1-15) and according to
the thematic analysis procedure introduced by Braun and Clarke (2006). The findings
show that the caricatures serve as ideological rhetoric of the dominant white group,
projecting the ‘other’ as problematic, focusing on their country of origin rather
than their well-being in their new country. Although humour conceals the cultural
exclusion in the data set, the cultural codes in the visual material generalise the non-
Western ‘other’ as either extremely religious or as fundamentally different.